UFC 249 Preview And Prediction
Who will be the next contender for the UFC lightweight title? Tony Ferguson or Justin Gaethje?
By the time UFC 249 begins on 9 March 2020, it'll have been 53 days since the last time the promotion put on an event. Even during the days when cards were more sporadic, we've rarely had a break between events that has lasted this long. It's been awhile since we've seen two talented fighters put on some 4oz gloves and scrap it out inside the Octagon and it's certainly been missed.
Luckily for the fans who have been waiting at home patiently for even a sniff of mixed martial arts action, this event has been built to deliver completely insane levels of violence. It's often said that cards are "stacked from top-to-bottom", but that's not always the case. However, there isn't one fight you should miss at UFC 249 and we're here to break them down for you.
From the fascinating main event between lightweight contenders, Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje, to the first bout between ultra exciting 205lbers Ryan Spann and Sam Alvey, not only is the only live sport in town at the moment, it's probably the best UFC card we're going to get all year.
Let's begin....
6. Preliminary Card Preview
One of the very few positives to come from numerous cards being cancelled due to the current crisis is that the UFC have managed to take the best fights and create a super card because of it.
The Fight Pass prelims feature three exceptional battles, with the earlier mentioned scrap between Spann and Alvey, being joined by dynamic featherweights Bryce Mitchell and Charles Rosa and fight-finishing 170lbers, Vicente Luque and Niko Price. Although all three promises fireworks, the rematch between Luque and Price has serious fight of the night potential.
The ESPN prelims are even better, featuring former champions and title contenders throughout the four-fight under card. Although a middleweight battle between Uriah Hall and Jacare Souza and women's strawweight scrap between Carl Esparza and Michelle Waterson are bound to be fun, it's the last two fights before the main card that have us salivating.
The greatest heavyweight submission artist of all time, Fabricio Werdum, takes on another fearsome grappler in Aleksei Oleinik and former foes, Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis, do battle at welterweight in what should be the perfect appetiser for the stellar main card.